Well this is awkward... I told myself I wouldn't go this long again without updating but here I am. I apoligize. I was very much distracted by school, depression, relationship stuff, blah blah blah, excuses, exuses, excuses. But I'm back! And I've finally graduated college! :) This doesn't neccesarily mean I'll be updating often, but it does mean I have more time to work on my stories. I've seriously been missing this story though and I've had some great ideas for it along the way (I just wish I would've wrote em down somewhere). But without further delay, here's chapter 12.

Chapter 12: The Next War

Grant Ward sat at the desk of an office flipping through some old files. He'd been waiting for a report from the teams in Paris. Since he could do nothing but wait, he figured he would come to Venice to do some research. This place had been vacated by one of the former heads of Hydra and a lot of files were left behind.

Currently he was reading about the activities of Hydra during the Cold War. Fascinating. Hydra grew all across the world and the world was too busy fighting itself to notice. It made him wonder what these Templars had been doing all this time. They seemed to have more resources and more influence than Hydra. How had they stayed hidden all this time? Ward didn't even know of their existence, which troubled him.

The hours passed by slowly as he read reports of espionage, assassination, and sabotage. Chernobyl was an especially interesting story. He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Yes?" One of his lieutenants entered.

"Sir, we have a report from the Paris team." Ward nodded for him to continue but the man seemed hesitant. "...The Avengers showed up... They captured the Templar."

Ward stood and slammed his fist into the desk. He took a calming breath. "Thank you."

The man wasted no time exiting the room before Ward decided to take his anger out on him. He sat in his chair for a few minutes contemplating his next move. The Templars provided intel on the time-traveling assassin he'd captured and were more than curious to discover how he accomplished this. After about an hour of considering his situation, something occurred to him and he called for his lieutenant.

The same man from earlier entered and Ward wasted no time. "Did the Templar know about this place?"

"We notified him we would be in Venice waiting for his report of his findings."

Ward quickly stood. "Then the Avengers are probably already on their way."

And they were.

The jet arrived at Venice shortly after nightfall and the team didn't hesitate to begin their search. On the way, Steve had devised a search plan that would allow them to cover the entire city by morning while monitoring all outgoing traffic. If Ward was still here, they'll find him. Tony and Rhodey stayed in the sky monitoring any boats, aircraft, and vehicles that left the city. Vision and Sam were on overwatch, flying across the city scanning the streets for any activity. The remaining Avengers divided up into groups to search on the ground, street by street. Steve insisted on going with Bucky. Wanda paired up with Clint. That left Arno and Natasha, not that they had a problem with that.

Steve assigned each group a sector to search and they went their separate ways. It wasn't long before Arno and Natasha reached their sector and began their search. The next hour was a blur of passing streets and no sign of Hydra. Arno was starting to lose hope that Ward was still here. Then his comm link came alive.

It was Steve. "We've found something. Arno, Natasha, get to our coordinates. Everyone else maintain your search, just in case I'm wrong."

Arno and Natasha looked at each other before Natasha's phone rang. Steve had sent her their position.

Her and Arno wasted no time before running to them. A few minutes later, they found Steve standing out of sight in an alley.

He saw them coming and waved them over to him. "So what's going on?"

"A while ago, Bucky fell to his knees clutching his head. I was afraid he was losing it but before I could check on him, he turned to me and said he remembered where Hydra was operating from in Venice. At least, where they used to operate from. The building around the corner used to be a Hydra outpost during the Cold War. It could be abandoned though."

"How'd he know about this place?"

Steve didn't want to imagine what his friend had been through. "It's probably best that we don't know."

Natasha checked the street. "Where is he now?"

"He circled around to watch from the other side." "So what's the plan?"

"Before we make a move, we need to determine if this place is still an active compound. There's a 10 foot fence surrounding the entire property, the building is 3 floors but there's more than likely a basement. There hasn't been any visual activity yet."

A robotic voice spoke into their comms. "If I may be of assistance..." It was Jarvis. "A thermal scan of the compound shows 18 hostiles inside. The basement is a network of rooms underground. There's a ventilation system that spans throughout the building. Might I suggest Monsieur Dorian make use of his... skills? Ms. Romanoff coul-"

"Thank you Jarvis." Steve interrupted. He didn't like being told what to do by a computer. "My pleasure Sir."

As much as he hated to admit it, Jarvis was helpful. "He's right. Arno can you take the vents? Nat, can you get down to the basement another way? That's most likely where we'll find Ward and I want the two of you down there. I'll get everyone else her-"

Steve was interrupted by Tony. "If I could cut in for a moment Captain, there's a four car convoy leaving the city to the north."

Steve thought on it for a second. "Rhodey can you and Vision check on that? Tony, you and Sam stay on overwatch. I don't want him to escape because we fell for a diversion."

"All I'm here to do is watch? I could've done that from my couch." Steve ignored Tony's comment and turned his attention back to Arno and Natasha. "Bucky, take the garage. Nobody leaves."

"You got it." Bucky's voice came over the comm for the first time since the beginning of the mission. Tony had already voiced his concerns to Steve about having Bucky on the team for this mission. Actually, he was quite shocked when he heard they'd not only found Bucky but that he was joining them on this mission.

Steve continued laying out his plan. "I'll check the upper floors and then I'll join you in the basement. Jarvis, can you check for any security measures on the exterior of the building?"

"It seems the yard is lined with motion sensors. Security cameras are placed facing the north and south gate. The east and west sides of the compound have claymore mines concealed in the tall grass. The roof only has one security camera, I would recommend that as a point of entry."

"Ok, that's where we'll go in. Remember, we want Ward alive." For some reason, Arno felt that last part was aimed at him. The plan was then set in motion. They made their way to the roof of the building next to the compound and Bucky appeared on the opposite roof.

Steve decided to make one more thing clear. "I don't need to remind everyone that we need to keep this as contained as possible. We already caused enough trouble in Paris. We don't need to draw any more attention to ourselves."

With a running start, Steve and Bucky jumped from the building and landed on the roof without any trouble and Bucky quickly took out the camera with a silenced shot to the lens. Arno threw a grappling hook across. Once it was secured, he and Natasha climbed over to the join the two super soldiers. Arno went straight for the vents and quickly made his way down. The others went for the stairs that led down from the roof.

Steve stopped at the top floor while everyone else continued down. Within minutes, everyone was where they needed to be. As far as they knew, the enemy was still unaware of their breach. Arno was in the basement vents and was checking the rooms through the grates as he quietly crawled through them. Still no sign of Ward.

He checked the hall and noticed most of the men were carrying boxes of files and papers into a certain room. "What are they doing?" Arno thought to himself. He followed the vents until he found his way over the room. There was a large furnace.

They're burning everything.

He whispered into the comm. "They're burning files in the basement. I don't see Ward though."

Steve quickly replied. "Ok, lets wrap this up quick and try to retrieve any remaining files. Mission, execute." With that signal, Arno did his thing. He silently exited the vent and landed quietly in the furnace room next to the door. Just as he did, an agent walked in. Arno quickly grabbed him and knocked him unconscious.

He made his way to the hall just in time to see Natasha peek around a corner at the other end. Between them was about eight agents. Acting together, they both charged into the hall. One by one, the agents fell to their superior fighting skills. Arno delivered a kick to a man's chest and turned to find himself facing Natasha.

All of the agents in the hall had been dealt with. They quickly started checking every room. They came across three more guards and quickly handled them too. Within minutes, they had checked every room. They met back up in the hallway.

"Steve, Ward isn't in the basement."

"Ok, I've finished checking upstairs. He's not up here either. Keep loo-" In the next second, Arno heard an explosion. Then he felt it. Each room began to erupt in fire as they both were knocked to the ground. A door was blown off the hinges and nearly hit Arno as it flew over him. His ears were ringing and his vision was a blur.

The building had been rigged. Smoke enveloped the hall as fire began to spread through the basement. Arno only had one thing on his mind now. He called out through the smoke.

"Natasha?"

Nothing.

"Natasha?!"

As he started regaining his senses, he frantically searched for her through the smoke. He crawled on the floor to stay under the smoke and he could make out her red hair ahead of him. As he crawled, burning parts of the ceiling were beginning to fall through.

When he got to her, she was unconscious. She was pinned beneath a block of rubble that had fallen on her. "Natasha!" He grabbed the rubble and tried to lift but it didn't budge. His worry started to boil over as the fire was quickly spreading. A piece fell on him and set his sleeve on fire. He quickly smothered it out.

Thinking quickly, he found a metal pipe. He jammed it under the rubble and applied every bit of strength he had until it lifted off her.

He heard Steve's voice behind him. "Arno?! Nat?!" He glanced over his shoulder to see Steve running down the stairs. Returning his focus to Natasha, he picked her up over his shoulder and made his way to the stairs. Steve could barely see him coming towards him but he managed to yell. "The whole buildings coming down!"

Without replying, Arno followed Steve up the stairs and the smoke didn't dissipate at all as they continued climbing. Arno could feel it burning his lungs but he had to get Natasha out of here.

Soon, they were back on the roof and without dropping her, Arno fell to one knee. The fresh air was most welcome but it make him cough painfully. Steve was at his side.

"We need evac on the roof right now!"

Within seconds, Tony and Sam were there. Tony took Natasha over his shoulder and quickly flew her away to safety. As Sam grabbed Arno, the roof started to give beneath them. With a burst of thrust, Sam lifted Arno from the roof.

Steve shouted as he realized something. "Where's Bucky?!" As he said that, Bucky appeared out of the staircase and didn't stop running across the roof. When Steve saw him making a break for the edge, he quickly followed him. As they reached the edge and jumped, the building began to collapse. They landed hard on the next roof and they watched as the Hydra base crumbled.

After a few seconds, Steve noticed Bucky clutching a large file in his hand. "What is that?"

Bucky quickly tucked the file away. "I'll tell you later."

Steve didn't have time to pry information from Bucky, he needed to check on his team. "Tony, how's Nat?"

"A little beat up and out cold but she's alive." "And Arno?"

"He's still getting smoke out of his lungs but otherwise, fine." Sam spoke through the comm.

This was a disaster. Several Hydra agents were dead, an archive of information had been destroyed, and they almost didn't make it out. Ward. It had to be. He buried his own men, and for what? To destroy Hydra's secrets? To destroy any Avengers in the explosion? They needed to find him. This ends today.

"Tony, you and Sam get back to searching the city for Ward. He had to be the one that triggered the explosion. We'll take care of Arno and Natasha. Jarvis, can you track the detonator signal?"

"Yes sir... The signal came from a van moving west. Sending you the coordinates." They were still down two team members. Looking at the coordinates, Steve formed a quick plan.

"Wanda, Clint, the car is heading for you. Find it and stop it. Rhodey, what's the status of the convoy?"

Rhodey's scream was heard through the comm. "They just opened fire on us!"

Rhodey and Vision were watching the convoy from a distance but when they heard things going bad in town, they decided to approach. Once they were close enough, two men leaned out of the window in the rear vehicle and fired at them with submachine guns. The bullets bounced off Rhodey's suit but he was still concerned. "Steve, we need to stop these guys."

"Ok, do it."

Rhodey turned to Vision. "Stop the lead truck. I'll take the back. We'll box the others in." Vision flew in front of the convoy and turned to face the vehicle just as a man leaned out the window with an RPG. Beams shot from his eyes, splitting through the engine and the front axle. The front of the truck hit the ground and it skidded to a stop. Rhodey disabled the rear truck with a shot to the rear, making both back tires fall off.

The middle two vehicles were trapped. Several men got out with weapons but at seeing both Vision and Rhodey, they sensed the futility of their situation and lowered their weapons to the ground.

Rhodey checked every vehicle for Ward. "Ward isn't in the convoy but we stopped it and now we've got some new friends to talk to."

Steve almost replied immediately. "He must be in the van. Round up the prisoners and bring them to the jet."

Wanda stood on one side of the road, while Clint stood on the other. Their plan was pretty simple. Stop the van and gas out anyone inside. Soon, the van was spotted quickly approaching them. Wanda locked up all four tires, while Clint fired a gas arrow into the open window. The cab quickly filled with gas and coughing could be heard inside.

Three men quickly exited. Clint's eyes focused on one that was none other than Grant Ward. "We found Ward." Clint rushed to the rear of the van with an arrow trained on Ward's head. Ward and the other two finally composed themselves enough to notice Clint. The street lights barely illuminating the street. Noticing that each of them was armed with a handgun, Ward smirked at Clint. "Hey Clint. It's good to see you again."

"It's over Ward. We're taking you in."

Ward looked at the other two and chuckled. "You know, I never understood the whole Robin Hood getup. But the way I see it, we're all armed and I only see one arrow in that bow."

No sooner had the words left his mouth before each of their guns began to glow red and fly out of their hands. Then each of their guns were trained back on them while floating in the air.

Wanda stepped around the van. "You were saying?"

Clint let his arrow fire at Ward. It hit him in the chest and sent a pulse of electricity through him and into the other two men standing near him. They all fell to the ground. "One arrow is all I need. We got Ward."

Arno sat by Natasha's side as she laid on the medical table still unconcious. Steve had sent for a medical team and an additional jet from Avengers HQ. He held her hand and just watched her. The doctor had given him an oxygen mask to help clear the remaining smoke from his lungs and he would occasionally have a few coughs but mainly he was just tired.

He laid his head on the table, deciding to get at least a little rest while never letting go of her hand. Arno didn't know how much time had passed before he felt her grip tighten and she shot up on the table with a gasp. Arno quickly stood. "Natasha?"

Her wide eyes looked at him as she took quick breaths. She looked all around at her surroundings. She seemed to calm down some and finally turned back to him. "Arno? What happened?"

Ignoring her question because he was more concerned for her health. "How do you feel?"

She brought her hand to her head. "Like I've been kicked by a mule and thrown down some stairs."

"Ward rigged the basement. You're safe now though."

"Did we get him?" Arno smirked. "Yeah we got him."

The doctor came and checked on her. She had a slight concussion and a couple of minor fractures. Mostly cuts and bruises beyond that. The entire time, she never let go of Arno's hand. They moved her to a bed on the jet as they were preparing to depart for the HQ. Knowing that she would be alright, Arno was finally able to rest in a chair next to her bed.

At the end of the night, the Avengers had taken 15 prisoners, including Ward. One jet transported the prisoners back to HQ. Wanda and Vision took that jet too in case the prisoners decided to cause trouble. Everyone else took the other. It was safe to assume that everyone had the same thing on their mind: Is this finally the end of Hydra?

They arrived at the HQ at early sunrise. As the prisoners were taken away to the cells, Steve decided to say a few words. He stood at the ramp of the jet.

"Avengers, it's been a long and tough fight. And there will be other fights. But for now, there's peace. Let's take a moment and remember those we've lost to Hydra. Those who laid down their lives to defy evil and to protect those they love."

Everyone stood there in silence. Some remembering their fallen comrades, others remembering the times they fought Hydra. Arno stood there in silence remembering everything that had happened in the relatively short time he'd been here.

It was surprisingly a lot. But he could honestly say he liked his new life. His new friends.

Steve spoke up after a minute. "Alright, lets all get some rest. We'll resume training in four days."

Everyone started making their way to their rooms as the sun began to shine through the base. Arno decided to get something to eat before checking up on Natasha. He went to the kitchen area and nearly jumped when he found Bucky sitting at the table.

What's he reading? Arno grabbed a drink before moving near the table. "Everything okay?"

He quickly realized the super soldier didn't know he was standing there because Arno soon had a metal hand around his throat. Bucky seemed to relax when he realized it was Arno. He finally let go.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were standing there." Arno coughed a couple times but he was fine after.

"I see that. What's got you on edge?" Bucky looked back at the table. The file had fallen open on the floor and Arno saw a picture of Bucky. He started to reach for it but Bucky quickly snatched it up.

Sensing this was something Bucky didn't want to discuss, Arno just nodded. "Maybe you should talk to Steve about that."

Bucky didn't say a word. He just nodded.

With that, he turned and left the room after grabbing an apple. Bucky didn't know him so obviously he wouldn't want to talk to him about anything. Arno made his way to the infirmary where he found Natasha sound asleep. He decided to sit in a chair in the corner so he wouldn't disturb her. He hadn't slept well on the flight back so he decided a little more sleep would do him some good. He closed his eyes and soon drifted too sleep.

Despite this being a huge victory, Arno had a feeling there would be plenty more enemies in the near future.

I know, there's no way this chapter could live up to an almost seven month build up. It's been so long since I updated, you might have to read the two previous chapters to remember whats happening. Thank yall for your patience and I'll do my best to update soon. The bright side is I'm not in college anymore. However, I'm putting 40+ hours a week. I love but envy those authors that update every two-three days. I'm obviously not one of em. Please leave a review of what you thought of the chapter and possible suggestions to where you think the story should go from here. (I've got an idea, but I like hearing other ideas.)